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Even in ancient times, some nationalities decorated their houses with dried heads of catfish. These monstrous fanged snouts have always attracted the attention of strangers.
Catfish fish: description
This is a huge fish, similar in appearance to eels or moray eels, while it is not even their closest relatives. The catfish represents the family of ray-finned fish and the perch-like order. This fish is found in the waters of the northern hemisphere.
Appearance
No wonder they gave a similar name to this species of the family of ray-finned fish, since the first thing that catches your eye when you meet is the large upper fangs, which are visible even from the outside of the mouth. Catfish jaws are shaped to hold potential prey in a stranglehold. At the same time, chewing muscles are quite developed. Adults are so strong that they easily bite through a fishing hook or a shovel handle. As a rule, catfish, like nuts, click shells and shells with their jaws. Under such conditions, catfish have to change their teeth once a year. As a rule, this happens in winter, and instead of fallen teeth, new ones grow, which in a month and a half will be able to fully perform their functions.
This fish has a highly elongated body, which bends as it moves, like the body of a snake. Such maneuverability became possible after the catfish lost their pelvic fins. It is believed that the distant ancestors of catfish still had ventral fins, as evidenced by the structure of the body of this fish. All species of catfish that are known today have unpaired dorsal and anal fins, as well as huge, fan-like pectoral fins. The caudal fin is not very developed, which is typical for fish moving slowly in the water column, and is not large in size. Individual individuals are able to grow in length up to 2 meters and weigh about 50 kg.
Behavior and lifestyle
A certain Canadian McDaniel was very frightened when he met a catfish at a depth of 20 meters, and this is not surprising, since her skull is wrinkled, like a rotten fruit, and is gray in color. The entire muzzle of the catfish is so distorted that it resembles a continuous ulcer, while it has huge, swollen lips that occupy almost the entire width of the muzzle. Behind the lips, in her mouth, large and powerful fangs grow, which almost stick out. It seems that a catfish will open its huge mouth and swallow a person in an instant.
All catfish prefer to lead a benthic lifestyle. Therefore, here at the bottom they feed, not particularly sorting out food. In the daytime, catfish are in their shelters, which serve as caves, and after dark they go hunting. With the onset of cold weather (winter), catfish descend to depths where the temperature regime is more stable.
Interesting fact! Depending on the depths at which catfish live, the development of fish lies in a directly proportional relationship. The deeper the catfish lives, the slower the growth.
Spotted catfish in the summer period adhere to more upper layers of water, compared to the winter period, but, compared to the striped catfish, they migrate over much greater distances. Common catfish prefers to be among rock crevices, as well as among algae, while it is perfectly camouflaged not only due to its color, but also due to the slow movements of its body. With the advent of winter, when the catfish goes to the depths, its camouflage color turns pale and becomes lighter.
The striped catfish or sea wolf, as it is also called, quite often uses its fangs to protect itself both from natural enemies and from its relatives. Experienced anglers, in case of a catch, handle catfish very carefully, as they can seriously injure a person.
How long do catfish live
According to experts, if the catfish manages to avoid getting into fishing nets, then it can live for about 2 decades.
Interesting fact! The catfish is considered a passive predator because it does not pursue its prey, but attacks it from a hiding place. Therefore, to catch this fish on a spinning rod, you will have to try hard. To do this, you need to unbalance the fish by teasing it. As a rule, catfish are teased by tapping with a sinker on a hard surface (on stones). The method of catching is called – “catching on a knock.”
Sexual dimorphism
Males are somewhat larger in size, and also have a darker color of their body. In females, the muzzle is more attractive, since there are no swelling around the eyes and their lips are not so massive, and their chin is also weakly expressed.
Types of catfish with a photo
In nature, there are 5 species of catfish, while 3 species, such as the common catfish, spotted catfish and blue catfish, inhabit the waters of the North Atlantic, and the remaining 2 species, such as the Far Eastern catfish and the eel catfish, are found in the northern waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Common catfish
This species of catfish differs from other species in the presence of developed tuberculate teeth. The teeth of the lower jaw are slightly shifted back, which allows you to effectively grind hard objects, along with the upper jaw. In addition, the common or striped catfish is somewhat smaller than the spotted and blue catfish. Therefore, they do not grow longer than 1 meter 25 cm, while gaining weight a little more than 20 kg.
Catfish spotted
The spotted catfish is intermediate in characteristics between the striped and blue catfish. The spotted catfish is larger in comparison with the striped catfish, but somewhat smaller than the blue catfish. At the same time, it can reach a length of about one and a half meters and gain weight in the range of 30 kg. This species has less developed teeth, which are tubercular in shape. Juveniles are painted in wide, black, transverse stripes, from which separate spots are then formed when the fish begins to lead a benthic lifestyle.
blue catfish
This species has the least developed tuberculate teeth, while the vomerous row is shorter than the palatal rows. Adults grow to more than half a meter and gain weight over 30 kg.
At the same time, it is known that there are individuals reaching a length of at least 2 meters. The color of the blue catfish is more monotonous, close to darker tones and barely noticeable spots that do not form pronounced stripes.
Far Eastern catfish
This species grows to a length of 1 meter, or maybe a little more. It differs from other species of Atlantic catfish by a somewhat larger number of vertebrae, as well as rays in the anal fin. At the same time, this species has rather strong tubercular teeth, which allows adults to easily grind fairly strong shells. Juveniles of the Far Eastern catfish are colored in dark stripes, which are located along, but not across the body. As the fish grows, the stripes begin to break into separate spots, as it were. After some time, in adults, these spots become more and more invisible, and then completely disappear against a dark background.
eel catfish
This special type of catfish is classified as a separate species, as they differ significantly from other species. The shape of the head and the structure of the teeth are almost the same as those of the Far Eastern catfish. At the same time, the body of the eel catfish is much longer, especially since it has more than 200 vertebrae, as well as a large number of rays in the dorsal and anal fins.
Adults often grow up to 2 and a half meters in length. Young individuals are distinguished by a unique coloration, consisting of longitudinal stripes, which, as they grow older, turn into spots that retain their color for almost their entire lives.
Range, habitats
Catfish are marine fish that prefer to live in temperate and cold water areas of northern latitudes. They inhabit the continental shelf, adhering to the impressive depths and bottom of the reservoir. The habitat of the striped catfish is common:
- To the western waters of the Baltic and part of the Arctic Ocean.
- The Faroe and Shetland Islands.
- to the northern parts of the Kola Peninsula.
- On the coastal waters of Norway, Iceland and Greenland.
- Motovsky and Kola bays.
- To Bear Island.
- On the western coast of Svalbard.
- On the Atlantic coast of North America.
The striped catfish is also found in the Barents and White Seas, mainly near the coastlines, which are distinguished by considerable depth.
Interesting to know! The spotted catfish occurs in the same conditions as the common catfish, and in the northern waters it is much more common than in the southern ones. Off the coast of Iceland, the number of striped catfish is about 20 times greater than the spotted ones.
The spotted catfish chooses water areas located on the continental shelf, but it is difficult to find it near the coast and in algae. She prefers to rest at an impressive depth of up to half a kilometer. The blue catfish is found in the same conditions as the spotted catfish. Unlike other species, it is more mobile and prefers to be at depths of up to 1 km.
The Far Eastern catfish is found in Norton Bay, within the Aleutian and Commander Islands, as well as Pribylov Island. In addition, it is found within the island of Hokkaido, as well as the eastern coasts of Kamchatka. The catfish eel prefers to live in water areas located within the Pacific coast of North America, from California to Alaska (Kodiak Island).
Catfish diet
Divers determine the location of catfish by the “mountains” of empty shells and shells located at the entrances near the cave. The structure of catfish teeth is designed so as to easily grind food items enclosed in shells or chitin.
The catfish diet includes:
- Various crustaceans, including lobsters.
- Shellfish.
- Sea urchins.
- Sea stars.
- Snails.
- Jellyfish
- A fish.
It is important to know! With the help of its powerful fangs, the catfish tears off objects of food from various surfaces, and with the help of its teeth it crushes them. When the process of changing teeth takes place, catfish either starve or swallow small food objects whole if they are not covered by a shell.
Different types of catfish differ in that their gastronomic preferences differ, although not significantly. The striped catfish, for example, although it feeds on fish, is small and prefers mollusks. Clams are also the best hook bait for catfish. The spotted catfish has a greater preference for echinoderms, although the diet is otherwise similar.
The Far Eastern catfish is characterized by the fact that it lives in coastal thickets and feeds on echinoderms, mollusks, fish and crustaceans. The blue catfish prefers jellyfish, ctenophores and fish more. Other food objects, and especially shellfish, are present in its diet, but quite rarely. Because of this, the teeth of the blue catfish do not wear out as they do in other species, although they also change annually.
Reproduction and offspring
The struggle for females in these species is carried out once in a lifetime, after which the male remains faithful to his female throughout his life. Males arrange fights and beat their heads in the truest sense of the word, while they use their formidable weapons – fangs and teeth. Thanks to rather thick lips and massive thickenings in the eye area, the opponents manage to avoid quite serious injuries. At the same time, there are always a lot of scars, and they remain for life.
Each species of catfish spawns in its own way. Striped catfish, depending on age, is able to lay from 600 to 40 thousand eggs, up to 6 mm in diameter. The eggs stick together into a ball and stick to hard surfaces. Males remain near the clutches for some time and guard their future offspring. Eggs develop quite slowly and fry, up to 2 cm in size, appear only in spring, while the female lays eggs in winter.
After being born, catfish fry rise closer to the surface, but having reached a size of up to approximately 7 cm, they again return to the bottom. After that, hardly anyone will see them in the water column.
Important fact! At the initial stages of their development, juveniles feed on zooplankton, but as they grow older, they switch to a classic diet.
Spotted catfish, growing in length up to 1 meter and a little more, lay a maximum of 50 thousand eggs, the diameter of which is almost the same as that of other species. The masonry is also formed into balls, but their immersion depth is at least a hundred meters, and also at a considerable distance from the coast. The fry, after being born, also first rise to the surface and remain in similar conditions much longer than the fry of the striped catfish. After that, they sink to the bottom.
The blue catfish, which is somewhat larger than the spotted catfish, spawns almost 30 eggs of the same size as the rest of the species. At the same time, they spawn in spring, autumn or summer. Unfortunately no one found eggs of this species. As a rule, in the Barents Sea, only unfertilized individuals come across in the net, which is why blue catfish are called widows. After birth, blue catfish fry remain in the upper layers of the water for a long time before sinking to the bottom.
The Far Eastern catfish lays eggs in summer, and fry after birth also rush to the surface layers of water. From each masonry, not a large number of fry survive at all, and even more so, they live to puberty.
Natural enemies
Fry and young catfish are preyed upon by many fish of the world’s oceans, and already adults are hunted by seals, as well as large sharks that lead a benthic lifestyle.
Population and species status
Naturally, the number of catfish is constantly declining, but not at such an alarming pace as to be included in the Red Book. As a rule, the number of catfish is seriously affected by uncontrolled catch, so many countries have begun to control industrial capture at the level of laws.
Fishing value
The blue catfish has rather watery meat, although it has a significant concentration of vitamin “A”. As for the striped and spotted, they have a unique, tasty meat cooked using any technology. It is fried, boiled, smoked, salted and dried. Catfish caviar tastes like chum salmon caviar, and the liver is a real delicacy.
Important fact! More recently, the heads, fins and skeletons of catfish were fed to livestock, including cows, due to which the fat content of milk increased, and something like soap was made from bile. Nowadays, bags, light shoes, book bindings, etc. are made from the skin of spotted catfish.
The meat of the Far Eastern catfish is especially tasty, in addition, the meat is characterized as clean, without a single parasite, so it is highly valued on Sakhalin. Catfish are not caught on an industrial scale, but local fishermen practice this.
In conclusion
Catfish fish is a rather interesting creature, although scary. You can’t do without fear if you meet a dog fish (as local fishermen call it) at a depth. Despite such a terrifying appearance that repulses a person, this fish has quite tasty meat. Probably, the catfish was lucky, since it mainly leads a benthic lifestyle and it is difficult to get it from the bottom in especially large sizes, otherwise it would be caught on an industrial scale. Therefore, catfish populations remain at the same level. In fact, no one knows exactly how numerous these species are, since the fish prefer to be at considerable depths. Basically, the number of catfish is regulated at the natural level and a person, with insignificant catches, is not able to negatively affect their number.